Aston Villa hope to have their new manager in place before their next Premier League fixture.

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That's according to a claim made by The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans, who revealed in a post on Twitter that Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens are hoping to have appointed Dean Smith's replacement in the Aston Villa dugout by the time Brighton & Hove Albion visit Villa Park on November 20.

In his tweet, the journalist said: "Appt' expected before Brighton."

Fans will be delighted

While Aston Villa's transfer business this summer appeared to suggest that things were very much on the up for the club, with the likes of Danny Ings, Emiliano Buendia and Leon Bailey all joining the Villans in big-money moves, unfortunately for fans of the club, these pre-season hopes have not quite lived up to expectations.

Indeed, over the club's last five Premier League fixtures, Dean Smith's side had suffered five consecutive defeats, scoring five and conceding 13 goals in the process - results which left the 50-year-old's outfit on just 10 points after 11 games played, and only two points above the relegation zone.

And, after spending the best part of £90m in the transfer window, these results are quite clearly not good enough, meaning that, while he was undoubtedly a hugely popular figure at Villa, the club's decision to part ways with Smith was probably the correct call.

As such, while fans are well within their rights to be sad to see the 50-year-old manager pack his bags, the truth of the matter is that now is an incredibly exciting time to be a Villa fan, as, with the players currently in the first-team squad, should NSWE get their appointment regarding Smith's successor right, the next era in Aston Villa's history could well be an incredibly successful one.

And, with the start of this new era looking to begin before the club's next Premier League fixture, it seems as if fans will not have long to wait before they find out exactly who the next man to take charge of their side will be - something that is sure to delight the Villa Park faithful.

In other news: NSWE could land dream Gerrard alternative at AVFC in "exceptional" 54 y/o manager